Washington, Dec. 11: The FBI director, Mr Robert S. Mueller, has apologised to a Sikh-American civil rights and advocacy organisation for remarks linking Sikh Americans to terrorism at an intelligence conference in October.
The apology came in response to a letter from the Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund over a report in The Washington Times about Mr Mueller’s statements.
“I would like to apologise for, and clarify, any misunderstanding that the account in this newspaper story may have caused,” his office said in the letter.
The statement was intended to reiterate the FBI’s responsibility for, and commitment to, deterring and investigating terrorist threats and activity. “I can assure you it was not meant to single out any specific community, including Sikh-Americans,” the statement said.